Help St. Louis Help Pets
As many of you already know, today is Give STL Day. Today, we are asking you to help St. Louis help pets. We don’t wait for people and pets to come to us. As part of our mission, we actively reach out to the community and lend our support.
APA is a member of the Socially Conscious Sheltering Network. At its core, Socially Conscious Sheltering is about working in collaboration with partners in the community to support the individual needs of people and their pets.
Many studies have reported that pets offer meaningful comfort that protects against depression and loneliness during stressful periods in people’s lives. These studies have also shown that living or interacting with animals can increase the resilience of owners or people who interact with the animals.
The APA’s Community Programs support pet owners so that the animals they care for can stay in loving homes and out of the shelter.
How does APA’s community programs help support the human-animal bond?
- by providing free spay and neutering along with free vaccines and microchips to pet owners living in disinvested areas of St. Louis County
- by caring for pets of survivors of domestic violence
- by caring for pets of people surviving housing instability
- by providing financial assistance for non-routine veterinary care
Pet Food Support:
In a study conducted by The Center for Animals and Public Policy, nearly 40% of pet owners surveyed reported that they have, at times, run out of pet food before being able to buy more. Many obstacles can contribute to this, including a need for more local resources like pet supply stores, transportation difficulties, or the decision to feed themselves or their pets. Pet guardians have limited resources when faced with pet-food insecurity, as government food benefits do not cover pet food. As a result, studies have found many pet guardians turn to their already trusted community resources, such as a local food pantry, for help.
With this in mind, APA partnered with two local food pantries, TEAM Food Pantry and Helping Hands Food Pantry, in North Saint Louis County. APA also provides pet food support through the Dellwood Recreation Center’s Pet Food Pantry. Pet owners in need can thus access the generosity of the APA community through trusted sources. So far this year, we have distributed over 7,000 lbs. of pet food through these partnerships.
When you donate to support APA’s Pet Food program, you are keeping animals fed and healthy and pets at home with the people they love.
APA’s COMMUNITY SUPPORT PROGRAMS
Pet Partners Free Spay/Neuter, Vaccines and Microchips:
The decision to provide free spay and neuter along with vaccines and microchips to North St. Louis County was made after conducting a community assessment that determined the North County area has fewer animal-related resources per person than other areas of St. Louis County. These resources include veterinary clinics and stores that sell pet food and supplies. By focusing our efforts there, we are helping to relieve the strain that pet owners in need experience in that disinvested area.
When you donate to support the APA’s Pet Partners program, you are helping pet owners gain access to preventative health care to keep their pets healthy, reducing pet overpopulation through spaying and neutering, and helping lost pets find their way home through microchipping.
Safe Care:
On average, nearly 20 people per minute are physically abused by an intimate partner in the United States. In one year, this equates to more than 10 million people.
41.8% of Missouri women and 35.2% of Missouri men experience intimate partner physical violence in their lifetimes.
Pets are an important source of emotional support for victims of intimate partner violence and their children.
Pets are often targets of domestic violence. Because victims understand the extent of the harm their abusers are likely to inflict upon their pets, many hesitate to leave violent relationships out of concern for their pets’ safety.
Up to 40% of domestic violence victims remain in abusive relationships because they cannot find alternative living situations for their pets.
When you donate to support APA’s Safe Care program, you are not only saving a pet’s life; you are also saving the owner’s life as well as the lives of their children.
Crisis Housing:
Housing-related issues have been cited in multiple research studies as the most common reason for surrendering animals to shelters.
Prior to the pandemic, nearly half of U.S. households were classified as severely cost-burdened, meaning they spend more than half of their income on housing.
Right now, in St. Louis County, 11,650 households are behind on rent. That means an estimated 16,660 pets are facing eviction in St. Louis County over the next 30 – 90 days.
With few affordable available rentals overall, pet-friendly options are even more financially scarce or out of reach.
Research has shown that caring for pets provides many health benefits to people, including opportunities for unconditional love and companionship, a sense of responsibility, and a reason to live. Pets can also motivate behavioral change, such as reducing substance abuse.
The Heads to Tails Hope Fund
The Heads to Tails Hope Fund provides needs-based financial assistance for the benefit of owners of domestic animals for veterinary care beyond routine procedures, including treatment, surgery, and medications.
When you donate to support the Heads to Tails Hope Fund, you are helping an animal receive needed medical care and helping pets stay out of the shelter and stay in loving homes.
Thank you for helping St. Louis help pets!